Meet Joanne Zimolzak,
head of the Insurance Division and Managing Partner in the DC Office of McKenna Long &
Aldridge LLP. Below, Ms. Zimolzak
describes her experiences with administrative law and several major challenges facing
both practitioners and clients.
1. What led you to a career in law?
I am the first member
of my family to attend law school. I
started thinking about a career in law when I was in junior high school. Apparently I had a strong tendency to play "devil's
advocate," and my friends and family often suggested that law might be a
good field for me. I spent a year
between college and law school working at a small firm, which cemented my
choice.
2. What experiences with administrative or
regulatory law have you had?
Understanding the administrative law process,
including limitations on agency action, has proven extremely valuable in
connection with my Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) work. Throughout my career, I have assisted
government contractors with obtaining and/or successfully preventing the
release of sensitive business information under federal and state FOIA provisions. In certain cases, the agency's failure properly
to justify its determination has provided a strong basis to press for the best
possible result from the client's perspective.
In terms of regulatory compliance, I have assisted
several companies in alleged procurement fraud matters and in conducting
related internal investigations. I also
routinely advise insurance industry clients regarding regulatory compliance
issues. Recently, much of this work has
focused on the emerging risk of climate change and its resulting impact on the
industry, both from a regulatory standpoint and a potential liability
standpoint.
3. How did you become interested in pursuing a
career in administrative law?
Early in my career, I
had an opportunity to work on several Administrative Procedure Act challenges
to federal agency actions. These were
important matters to our clients, whose industries were negatively affected by
agency actions that did not (at least in our view) comport with applicable
standards. I also had the opportunity
early in my career to assist clients with litigating federal preemption cases
to state law claims, including as amicus curiae in proceedings before the U.S.
Supreme Court. These experiences piqued
my interest in administrative law and helped me appreciate its utility as a
tool to minimize the risks of agency arbitrariness and overreaching.
4. Do you have any advice about “best practices”
for attorneys, particularly for those whose work requires frequent interaction
with government agencies?
In law, as in life,
communication is key. It is helpful to
have relationships within government agencies and to deal respectfully and
productively with agency personnel, even in an adversarial situation. Depending on who you are dealing with within
an agency, there is often a good deal of useful information available. Make sure you know your issue, and avoid
taking unnecessary "pot shots" at the opposition – after all, chances
are you will be dealing with them again and may even need their help.
5. Is there a difference in how attorneys should
approach appearances before specialized courts, such as the Court of Federal
Claims or Federal Circuit, as opposed to generalist courts? In your experience, are the judges on
specialized courts looking for different things from attorneys, or do you
perceive them as having a somewhat different outlook from their generalist
colleagues?
When appearing before
specialized courts, practitioners sometimes get tripped up by things as simple
as the court's particular rules and procedures.
Spend some time getting to know these, and talk to or associate with
someone who routinely practices before these courts. It will be time well spent. I think on one level, all courts are looking
for the same kinds of things – competence, respectful conduct to the court and
other counsel, adherence to court rules and practices, etc. Certainly specialized courts are used to
seeing practitioners who are very experienced in certain types of cases, so there
is a high level of competence that they have come to expect in such matters.
6. What do you think are the biggest challenges
facing administrative law practitioners?
Managing client
expectations is very important. Both the
agency decision-making process and any eventual legal challenge to agency
action involve multiple steps and can take a good deal of time. The standard of review applicable to agency
action in certain situations can be difficult to overcome.
7. You have handled numerous insurance cases
during your career. Would you describe some
of the challenges facing international/multinational companies and their
attorneys in terms of regulatory compliance?
Globalization has led
to increased opportunities for international commerce, but the flip side
involves increased potential for legal liability. Multinational companies frequently find
themselves in the position of facing financial and reputational risk across
multiple jurisdictions. Companies
appreciate the importance of identifying regulatory issues and ensuring
compliance across a growing geographical footprint, but in the reality of
today's environment, they often are doing so with fewer resources. Substantively, large insurers and other
multinational companies are facing a host of regulatory compliance issues,
including in the areas of antitrust/competition, data privacy and protection, environmental/safety,
and anti-corruption/bribery. One thing to
keep in mind in assisting multinational companies with these issues is the
different privilege rules that apply in different jurisdictions.
8. For law students or new attorneys considering
a career in administrative law, what do you think would be a good way of
familiarizing themselves with the field?
It may sound obvious,
but I would encourage law students to take a course in Administrative Law and
Procedure. This was one of the best
courses I took at Georgetown and it provided an excellent introduction to the
field. In my view, this course should be
a prerequisite for anyone thinking of practicing law in the Washington D.C.
area (regardless of eventual discipline).
Another suggestion would be to intern with a federal agency during or
after law school.
8. Outside of the law, what are your favorite
activities or hobbies?
I enjoy spending time
with my two daughters, ages 11 and 4. In
my spare time, I love to cook (and in this regard, it is helpful that I also love
to eat!). I enjoy traveling to different
cities and countries, where I try to immerse myself in the local culture. I'm a huge movie buff – some recent favorites
include Her and Silver Linings Playbook.
I'm a big fan of ice-skating and recently took up stand up
paddleboarding, which is a hoot.
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